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Hiruzen fell silent.
Did he not already know all of this?
Of course he did.
As the leader of the Hidden Leaf Village, he had countless matters to consider, but the thorny issue of the Uchiha clan had occupied his thoughts countless times. Some problems could be solved by taking action, while others remained unsolvable no matter what was done.
Communication belonged firmly in the latter category.
Without trust, how could there be any meaningful dialogue? And without meaningful dialogue, how could trust ever be built?
"You're right about everything…" Hiruzen took a deep breath, his expression growing even more troubled. "But some things are not as simple as they sound."
Midorima's eyebrows rose slightly.
"Most of the time, it is precisely the lack of trust that prevents communication. Do you understand?" Hiruzen added.
"Who says there's no way forward?" Midorima disagreed. "Trust does not always require words. People have eyes for a reason—so they can 'see.' If the right actions are taken, trust can be earned even without saying a single word. I'm afraid the real problem is that the Hidden Leaf simply hasn't done enough in the past."
Hiruzen's eyebrows shot up. He was about to lose his temper when Tsunade quickly stepped in.
"From the way you're speaking… does that mean you already have a solution?" she asked.
Hiruzen instantly calmed down and looked at Midorima with clear curiosity.
Midorima shrugged.
"In three days, once the leaders from the other villages have all arrived, correct?"
Hiruzen nodded.
"As the host village, the Hidden Leaf is responsible for guaranteeing the safety of every Kage, right?" Midorima asked.
"That is correct."
"And you plan to assign shinobi as their escorts?" Midorima pressed.
"I intend to send…" Hiruzen's voice suddenly cut off. He stared at Midorima in astonishment for several long seconds before finally speaking again. "Are you suggesting we let members of the Uchiha clan serve as the escorts for the Five Kage?!"
"Exactly. And the Uchiha clan head himself should take personal responsibility for it," Midorima said.
"That is impossible!" Hiruzen blurted out.
Midorima remained silent, calmly watching the Hokage.
He had already said what needed to be said. Whether Hiruzen believed him or not was beyond his control.
Tsunade and Jiraiya had nearly the same initial reaction as Hiruzen when they first heard the proposal.
But once they thought it through and understood the logic behind it, their expressions toward Midorima changed completely.
Even Hiruzen, after uttering "impossible," fell into deep silence. His brows were tightly furrowed, and for a long time he could not speak.
Under normal logic, the entire Hidden Leaf was on guard against a possible Uchiha rebellion. It would be unthinkable to entrust them with something as sensitive as protecting the Five Kage. After all, the death of any single Kage would cause an international uproar.
Yet looked at from the opposite perspective, given the current hostile public opinion toward the Uchiha, the fact that the Hidden Leaf was still willing to assign them such an important duty could only mean that the Hokage trusted them.
This was precisely the kind of action that could build trust even without words.
However, during the war with the Hidden Sand, Hiruzen had not shown the Uchiha this level of trust—he had refused to send them to the front lines. The result of that decision was that the Uchiha clan had begun to deeply distrust the village. What unexpected events might follow from that, even Midorima could not predict.
But for the Five Kage themselves, this was not a difficult matter.
They were called the Five Kage precisely because of their exceptional strength. Even if the Uchiha truly intended something harmful, the Kage would be able to hold out long enough for reinforcements to arrive. And if everything went smoothly… then the outcome would be even better.
"I apologize. I know this plan carries significant risk, but time is too short. To break through the deep-seated distrust on both sides, strong medicine is necessary. If the Uchiha truly harbor rebellious intentions, the strength of the Five Kage should be more than enough to hold them off until help arrives. And if everything goes well… wouldn't that be the best possible result?"
Although the risk was high, if both sides could peacefully pass through this critical period, even if full reconciliation between the Uchiha and the Hidden Leaf was not achieved, there would at least be a stable window of time between them.
"Is this feasible?" Hiruzen asked Tsunade.
"It's worth trying," Tsunade nodded.
After thinking it over carefully, Jiraiya also nodded. "But we can't leave everything entirely to them. What do you think?"
"On the contrary," Midorima said, "I believe we should leave it completely to them. Remember, any extra or unnecessary actions will immediately be interpreted by them as a sign of distrust. Moreover, you cannot guarantee that the shinobi assigned to work alongside them won't say something provocative. However, we can monitor them discreetly. The moment they make any suspicious move, we can immediately summon reinforcements. The people doing the monitoring must be extremely skilled so they are not detected."
Instantly, Tsunade's gaze turned toward Jiraiya.
There was no doubt that if anyone in the Hidden Leaf was best suited for this task, it was Jiraiya.
"Ah~" Jiraiya scratched his head and let out a helpless groan. "Me?"
Hiruzen nodded. "It has to be you."
Finally, he could not resist glancing at Midorima once more, which made Midorima feel slightly uneasy.
"This matter still requires careful planning. Fortunately, we still have some time. I will also keep my promise and add an extra seat for you at the Five Kage Summit. Next, I would like to ask about Akatsuki. How much do you actually know about them?"
"Akatsuki is a complicated subject. I would prefer to discuss it during the Five Kage Summit itself. Also, even though the Uchiha will be responsible for the Kage's safety, I hope the rest of the Hidden Leaf remains vigilant. Especially regarding the Nine-Tails jinchūriki. Whatever you do, don't let anything go wrong with him during this summit," Midorima warned.
"Surely it won't be that coincidental?" Tsunade shook her head.
Midorima stared at her for a full ten seconds before asking, "By the way, on what exact date did the 'Nine-Tails Incident' occur?"
"It was on the day…" Tsunade's voice suddenly cut off.
The Nine-Tails attack had happened on the day Kushina Uzumaki gave birth. If it had occurred on any other day, neither Kushina nor Minato would have died.
"I understand," Tsunade said, immediately abandoning her objection.
That event had dealt the Hidden Leaf a devastating blow.
"But isn't that location the safest possible place?" Jiraiya turned to look at Hiruzen.
"..." Hiruzen let out a heavy sigh. "Then let him attend the Five Kage Summit with us. With all five Kage protecting him, Akatsuki should have no way to reach him."
Midorima nodded.
At present, this seemed to be the only viable solution.
After Midorima left, Hiruzen, Tsunade, and Jiraiya continued discussing the proposal he had put forward.
The Uchiha clan had never been part of their original plans. Now they had to find ways to persuade the village's upper echelons—including the two advisors—and that would not be easy.
They also needed to figure out how to convince the Uchiha clan to accept the assignment and how to organize layered security across the village on the day of the summit.
Unnoticed, the sky began to brighten. Only then did they finally settle on a concrete plan.